Washington State University, Responsibility Opportunity Advocacy and Respect (WSU ROAR) is an inclusive 2-year residential postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. WSU ROAR is a recognized comprehensive transition program located in rural eastern Washington. Within the program, there are four…

The importance of supporting families with members who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is well established in both policy and research. Yet little is known about how familiar parents are with existing resources (e.g., programs, supports, trainings), what information they would consider most helpful, and how they would prefer…

Raising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability confers exceptional care giving challenges on parents. We examined trajectories of 2 indicators of emotional well-being (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in a sample of primarily Caucasian mothers (N = 379; M[subscript age] = 51.22 years at Time 1) of adolescent and adult…

Moving Forward Towards Independence, a California-based nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by a group of parents, is a unique residential program where young adults with disabilities learn to enjoy productive, fulfilling and healthy lives within a caring, responsive community made up of fellow residents, trained staff members, parents and…

This article features Melmark New England, a private, nonprofit, community based organization dedicated to serving children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, acquired brain injury, neurological diseases and disorders, and severe challenging behaviors. The Melmark parent corporation, a Pennsylvania based provider of services for those…

A model in which autistic and other developmentally disabled persons are provided individualized treatment within a home-like residence has been shown to provide successful transitions from institutions to community settings. (CL)

The history of residential care for persons with autism and other developmental disabilities is summarized for the past 200 years. Residential trends toward community integration in the past three decades are traced for autism in general and for the Murdoch Center in North Carolina. Possible negative side effects of current trends are identified.…

Overselective stimulus control was assessed in 29 students at residential schools for individuals with developmental disabilities. Overselectivity testing included three different delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks. Sample stimuli for the Form/Color Test were nine possible combinations of three colors and three forms. On each trial, the S+…

This report describes the experiences of one California nonprofit agency which evolved, in less than 3 years, from supporting 65 people with autism and other challenging behaviors in 13 group homes to supporting 57 people who live in their own homes. The report describes the program's initial focus on providing integrated services in the group…